This entry-level series is notably cheap and offers decent performance at the cost of reduced resolution.

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This review was published on July 02, 2013. Since then, this product may have been discontinued or replaced. Pricing and availability may differ from what is stated in the review.

Behind the Screens

For its price and resolution, the F4000 performs well-enough for easy tasks. It's no home theater television, but its color integrity, motion handling, and black/white dynamic range will make all but the most detailed film content palatable. Just keep in mind, you get what you pay for—there's basic grayscale control here, but no advanced color tweaking options, so Movie mode is the best calibration possible.

Contrast Ratio

That'll do, pig

The UN29F4000 didn't test with a terrific contrast ratio by any means—especially not compared to some of the superstar plasmas we've reviewed this year—but at its lesser resolution and small size, a 2832:1 contrast ratio is usable. The F4000 will look its best in normal room lighting, as very dark or bright environments are going to mar the quality of its blacks. We tested a black level of 0.08 cd/m2 and a peak brightness of 226.60 cd/m2, which is pretty average for a 2013 LCD.

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Viewing Angle

More viewing real-estate than you need

Normally, we'd like to see as much horizontal viewing angle as possible. LCDs typically struggle to maintain decent luminance integrity at off-angle viewing, but the F4000 did better than its comparison group. We measured a total horizontal viewing angle of 51°, or ±25.5° from center to either side of the screen. While this is decent for this panel type, it's also kind of unnecessary: It's a 29-inch display, so you're likely going to be watching it alone.

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Color Quality

Great curves... color curves, that is

Our color test involves checking a television for three crucial adherence points: color gamut, color curves, and color temperature integrity. The F4000's color gamut ought to match up to the international standard for HDTV: Its red, green, blue, and white points at 100 IRE should land set coordinates. Unfortunately, it tends to slightly oversaturate blue and red, meaning they're more colorful than they should be. Fortunately, this is less noticeable to human eyes than if there were error in green.

As for color curves: They're great! While red tends to ramp up a little too quickly, the primary color curves maintain a balanced greyscale across the intensity input, moving in a gradual curve, which means ample definition along neighboring hues and shades. The F4000's greyscale curve is particularly good, moving in uniform increments from 0 to 100 IRE.

Finally, this display's color temperature integrity could be better. We found error towards the lower end of its greyscale, where blue tends to grow too luminous, causing a cooling tint to affect white parts of the picture. Just beyond that, however, shadow tones overcorrect, adding too much red to the picture and pushing it into orange hues.

Our editors review and recommend products to help you buy the stuff you need. If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. Our picks and opinions are independent from any business incentives.

Our editors review and recommend products to help you buy the stuff you need. If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. Our picks and opinions are independent from any business incentives.

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Our editors review and recommend products to help you buy the stuff you need. If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. Our picks and opinions are independent from any business incentives.

Our editors review and recommend products to help you buy the stuff you need. If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. Our picks and opinions are independent from any business incentives.